Page 51 - La Grande Guerra dei Carabinieri

51
Prima Guerra Mondiale, località imprecisata. Lo stendardo reale portato a spalla da un Carabiniere Guardia del
Re in uniforme grigioverde.

The sovereign’s protection:

Corazzieri at the front
the Corazzieri

ithout delving into the historical traditions of the House of Savoy, the Corazzieri were born as Carabi-
nieri King’s Guard and re-formed in 1868 – after a brief period in 1842 on the occasion of the marriage
W of the future King Vittorio Emanuele II – for the marriage of Crown Prince Umberto. From their foun-
dation in 1868, the Carabinieri King’s Guard provided the close protection and security of the sovereign and the
royal family. During the occasions of mobilisation of the Italian Armed Forces, the sovereign, as supreme com-
mander, went to the front to exercise his duties as head of state. In this case, the Corazzieri too followed him
and performed their traditional security services at his temporary forward position. In the course of their mili-
tary duties, the Corazzieri, on the occasion of visits by foreign heads of state, members of the national govern-
ment, foreign governments or high ranking military personalities of allied armies performed honorary services.
However, the height of the Corazzieri constitutes a limit rather than an element of strength. Too tall to go un-
noticed, the Corazzieri were engaged in limited services of vigilance and security when the sovereign was away
from court to avoid having the head of state identified, and so were made use of to a limited extent. This situation
of forced inaction compelled many Corazzieri to seek a more active role during the 1915 - 1918 conflict. Thus,
some of them took part in training courses to become officers, pilots, etc: all achieving significant results. Among
them we would like to remember Brigadier of the King’s
Guard Albino Mocellin and the Corazziere Italo Urbi- World War I, unknown location. The royal banner carried on the
nati: both killed while piloting aircraft. shoulder by a Carabiniere King's Guard in gray-green uniform.
On the opposite page: Martignacco, 5th May 1916. Some Corazzie-
ri with Italian soldiers and bersaglieri posed together with British
soldiers on the occasion of the visit on the Italian Front of Edward,
at the time Prince of Wales, then ascended the throne as Eduard VIII